Vinegar Syndrome has announced that it will add three new releases to its catalog later this month. They are: Southern Comfort (1981), Santet / Santet 2 (1988-1989), and Forgotten Gialli: Volume Six.
Description: Set during the height of the Vietnam War and deep in the swamps of Louisiana, a group of National Guardsmen have been ordered to partake in a simulated jungle exploration in an isolated part of Cajun country. After getting lost during the training mission, the soldiers commandeer canoes belonging to the locals in order to take a shortcut. When the rightful owners discover the soldiers with their property, the situation spirals out of control leaving one man dead and the soldiers caught in a deadly game of retribution. What follows is a bloody fight for survival as, with only their wits and blanks for ammunition, the soldiers will have to journey deeper and deeper into the bayou as they're forced to face the brutal reality of Cajun justice...
An intensely violent war metaphor filmed on location in the Louisiana Bayou, director and co-writer Walter Hill's (The Warriors, 48 Hrs.) acclaimed "backwoods" survival thriller, SOUTHERN COMFORT features an all-star cast headlined by Oscar winner Keith Carradine (Nashville), Emmy winner Powers Booth (Red Dawn), Fred Ward (Short Cuts), T.K. Carter (John Carpenter's The Thing), and Emmy winner Peter Coyote (Bitter Moon). Vinegar Syndrome Ultra is proud to present SOUTHERN COMFORT in 4K UHD for the first time, newly restored and loaded with extras.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY COMBO PACK
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Commentary track with Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film: Tragedy and Masculinity in the Films of Walter Hill
"Battle in the Bayou" (17 min) - brand new interview with co-writer / director Walter Hill
"Behind Enemy Lines" (26 min) - brand new featurette with editor Freeman A. Davies and assistant editor Lisa Zeno Churgin
"Soldiers, Not Mailmen" (17 min) - brand new interview with costumer Dan Moore
"Into the Unknown" (15 min) - brand new interview with film historian Wayne Byrne on Southern Comfort and the legacy of Walter Hill
Archival featurette featuring interviews with: co-writer / director Walter Hill and co-writer / producer David Giler, along with actors Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine, Peter Coyote and Lewis Smith (27 min)
Still gallery
Video trailer
20-page booklet with an essay by author Brian Brems
While enjoying an otherwise leisurely day, Kitty, a professional photographer, happens to witness the murder of a nude woman, via a sightseeing telescope. While she is unable to make out the black trench coat-wearing killer's face, it's not long before this mystery assailant begins stalking and gorily bumping off all potential witnesses to the crime. Fearing that she might become the killer's next target, Kitty enlists the help of her boyfriend, Alberto, as the two launch their own investigation into the murders…
A sensationally trashy and fun giallo from the genre's early 70s golden age, Maurizio Pradeaux' DEATH CARRIES A CANE (aka Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio) offers a non-stop barrage of sex and violence, all within the confines of a clever whodunit. Starring Nieves Navarro (Death Walks on High Heels), Robert Hoffmann (Spasmo), Simón Andreu (Open Season), and Rosita Torosh (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to present the world Blu-ray debut of this deliriously sleazy hidden gem from a new, 4K restoration of its 35mm camera negative, in both its original Italian and English language dubs.
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Presented in its original Italian mono soundtrack with optional English subtitles as well as its English mono dub soundtrack
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
"A Life in the Suite" - an interview with editor Eugenio Alabiso
Promotional still gallery
Inside sleeve artwork
Newly translated English subtitles
REGION-FREE
NAKED YOU DIE
Following the arrival of a mysterious trunk to an all-girls boarding school, a series of strange disappearances and murders begin to plague the institution. To appease the panic-stricken students and staff, Inspector Durand begins searching the school grounds in a bid to unmask the culprit. However, student and amateur sleuth, Jill, decides to solve the mystery on her own, unwittingly putting herself into the sights of a bloodthirsty killer!
A transitional giallo which bridges the "style over substance" and gothic-inspired thrillers of the mid-60s with the grimier and sleazier efforts of the 1970s and beyond, Antonio Margheriti's (Cannibal Apocalypse) debut giallo, the perfunctorily-titled NAKED YOU DIE (aka Nude... si muore; The Young, the Evil and the Savage) stars Mark Damon (The Devil's Wedding Night), Eleonora Brown (Two Women), and Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still). Featuring striking scope photography from Fausto Zuccoli (Zombie Holocaust) and a memorable score by Carlo Savina (The House of Exorcism), Vinegar Syndrome presents the English-friendly Blu-ray debut of NAKED YOU DIE, including the original Italian cut and English export version, both restored in 4K from its original 35mm camera negative.
directed by: Antonio Margheriti
starring: Mark Damon, Eleonora Brown, Sally Smith, Patrizia Valturri, Michael Rennie, Ludmila Lvova, Luciano Pigozzi
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Presented in two versions: the original 97-minute Italian cut and the 78-minute English language "School Girl Killer" edit
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
"Young, Evil & Savage" - an interview with actress Sally Smith
"School Girl Killer" - an interview with actress Eleonora Brown
"Last Shower" - an interview with actress Malisa Longo
"Hello Giallo: Death Finds Its Feet" - a video essay by Mike Foster on NAKED YOU DIE and the early days of the giallo film
"Giallo Dawson" - a video essay by Pier Maria Bocchi on the lesser-known films of NAKED YOU DIE director Antonio Margheriti aka Anthony Dawson
Promotional image gallery
Inside sleeve artwork
Newly translated English subtitles
REGION-FREE
THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW
In the 1950s, the body of a teenage girl was found strangled near a small village. Decades later, with the murder remaining unsolved, a young man named Stefano, who grew up in the area, returns home to visit his older brother, Paulo, who has become the local priest. Shortly after his arrival, more mysterious murders begin to plague the community, with the victims being members of a strange local sect. But when Paulo begins receiving menacing warnings from an unknown source, Stefano, with the help of his girlfriend Sandra, begins looking into the seemingly ordinary town's sinister past...
A late 70s standout in the giallo genre, director Antonio Bido's sophomore feature, THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW (aka Solamente nero), subverts expectations by offering a complex and serious-in-tone mystery set against the beauty and majesty of Venice. Starring American expat, Craig Hill (A Taste for Killing), Alfredo Zammi (Convoy Busters), and Italian genre film legend, Stefania Casini (Suspiria, Blood for Dracula), Vinegar Syndrome brings this this highly acclaimed thriller to Blu-ray, sourced from a new, director-approved 4K restoration and featuring a vast array of interviews with its cast and crew.
directed by: Antonio Bido
starring: Lino Capolicchio, Stefania Casini, Craig Hill, Massimo Serato, Juliette Mayniel, Laura Nucci, Alfredo Zammi
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
"Deep Black" - an interview with director Antonio Bido
"Inkstained Shadow" - an interview with screenwriter Marisa Andalň
"Beauty in the Darkness" - actress Stefania Casini interviewed by Antonio Bido
"Rural Horror Hero" - actor Lino Capolicchio interviewed by Antonio Bido
"The Bloodstained Set" - an interview with production assistant Luciano Lucchi
"A Bloodstained Sound" - an interview with musician Claudio Simonetti
Still gallery featuring behind-the-scenes photos & promotional images
Description: Indonesia's beloved scream queen, Suzzanna, stars in this decidedly demented duo of supernatural revenge thrillers, SANTET and SANTET 2, which boast not just over-the-top gore set-pieces, but an abundance of slimy creatures, wild plot twists, and even impromptu musical numbers! Vinegar Syndrome presents this hugely popular set of Southeast Asian horror classics on disc for the first time in the United States, both newly restored from their 35mm camera negatives!
SANTET (94 min): After poisoning his wife, local gangster Bisman blames her death on the village cleric and instigates an outraged mob to burn down his hut, killing him in the process. The cleric's wife Katemi (Suzzanna) escapes into the jungle, eventually meeting Nyi Angker, a half-crocodile half-witch who gives Katemi diabolical powers, thus allowing her to commence a bloody revenge…
SANTET 2 (92 min): Katemi is trying to live a pious life in her village, but most of the villagers shun and curse her on account of her previous murderous deeds. When the mentor of Nyi Angker finds Katemi and curses her, the madness in the village starts anew as Katemi turns into a vicious tiger every night, ripping the townspeople from limb to limb!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Commentary track with film historian Dr. Ekky Imanjaya for SANTET
Description: Brilliant scientist, Professor Bernard Hichcock, harbors a secret fascination with the corpses of beautiful young women. His perverse desires are so strong that he has developed a unique serum capable of placing people into a death-like state; a drug he has decided to experiment with on his wife, Margaretha. However, after accidentally giving her a lethal dose, the doctor panics and covers up his wife's death. Hichcock soon remarries, this time to the orphaned Cynthia, whom he brings to live with him at his isolated castle. Shortly after her arrival, Cynthia begins to experience increasingly strange and ghastly goings-on. While her new husband dismisses these seemingly supernatural occurrences, Cynthia becomes convinced that someone - or something - is lurking in the castle and her loving husband might know more than he's letting on…
A crucial early work in the Italian gothic horror canon, THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK, from director Riccardo Freda (Tragic Ceremony) and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh), is a macabre period chiller which stars Barbara Steele (Black Sabbath) alongside Robert Flemyng (The Blood Beast Terror), Silvano Tranquilli (So Sweet, So Dead), and Harriet Medin (Blood and Black Lace). Graced with eye-poppingly colorful cinematography from Raffaele Masciocchi (The Ghost), Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents the 4K Blu-ray debut of this twisted and suspenseful classic in a brand new and exclusive 4K restoration of its original negative, and loaded with fresh extras including interviews with second assistant director Marcello Avallone and star Barbara Steele!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY COMBO PACK
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
The 87-minute Italian cut features both its Italian and English language tracks and is available on both discs
The 76-minute American cut with its English language track and is available on both discs
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
"The Horrible Dr. Freda" - an interview with second assistant director Marcello Avallone
"The Most Honorable Julyan Perry" - an interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
"Necropolises and Necrophiliacs" - filmmaker Marcello Avallone on Italian horror and his experiences of working within the genre
Scene select commentary track with actress Barbara Steele, moderated by Barbara Steele archivist Russ Lanier